Psilocybin microdosers improved more over a month than non-microdosers in an observational app study
953 psilocybin microdosers and 180 comparators were followed for about 30 days. Microdosers showed small to medium improvements in mood and mental health. No placebo, self-selected, recruited through psychedelic-friendly venues.
Reasonable evidence with real limitations. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: Observational, no placebo, self-selected through psychedelic-friendly venues, 180 comparators against 953 microdosers; the app maker's staff and a supplement seller with patents on the tested combination are co-authors. Randomised trials find no clear effect.
The prospective version of the app study, and the strongest observational evidence the "it works" side has.
Significant findings
Rootman and colleagues followed 953 psilocybin microdosers and 180 non-microdosing comparators for about 30 days using a naturalistic, observational design. They "identified small- to medium-sized improvements in mood and mental health that were generally consistent across gender, age and presence of mental health concerns". In people who reported mental health concerns at the start, average depression scores moved "from moderate to mild" over the month. Adding Lion's Mane and niacin did not change the mood results; in older adults the combination went with better scores on a finger-tapping test.
The authors call it "the largest longitudinal study to date of microdosing psilocybin and one of the few studies to engage a control group."
The other direction
There was no placebo. The authors list "potential response bias related to participant self-selection and recruitment through venues that are favorable toward psychedelic use, which may have resulted in overrepresentation in our sample by individuals who respond favorably to microdosing." Dose was not studied, and side effects and interactions with antidepressants or anxiolytics "were not assessed". They also describe blind trials where most people guessed their group, and a placebo-controlled study that found no difference in anxiety or depression.
The 2026 meta-analysis in this library, which pooled randomised trials, found no clear effect on depression, anxiety or stress.
Disclosures
Data came through Quantified Citizen's app; one author is an employee and two are its founders. One author owns a company selling Lion's Mane supplements and has pending patents on the psilocybin, Lion's Mane and niacin combination. Rootman's funding came partly from Quantified Citizen. All declared in the paper. A correction fixed one p-value in the cognition results.
What this does not show
It cannot separate the drug from expectation. Nothing here says anyone should try, continue or stop microdosing, or change a prescribed medication.
Worth asking
What would it take for a microdosing study to rule out expectation, and has any study done that?
Source
Psilocybin microdosers demonstrate greater observed improvements in mood and mental health at one month relative to non-microdosing controls — Rootman JM, Kiraga M, Kryskow P, Harvey K, Stamets P, Santos-Brault E, Kuypers KPC, Walsh Z (2022)
Reputable peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14512-3
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-14512-3
How this was scored
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Funding
- Mixed public and industry funding
- Published in
- Reputable peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 1,133
- Preregistered
- not recorded
- Conflicts disclosed
- Yes
- Independent of proponent
- not recorded
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published October 2, 2026.
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
veisund rates this source "moderate evidence". Reasonable evidence with real limitations. It scores 59 out of 100 on our published rubric. One caveat travels with that badge: Observational, no placebo, self-selected through psychedelic-friendly venues, 180 comparators against 953 microdosers; the app maker's staff and a supplement seller with patents on the tested combination are co-authors. Randomised trials find no clear effect. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Psilocybin microdosers demonstrate greater observed improvements in mood and mental health at one month relative to non-microdosing controls — Rootman JM, Kiraga M, Kryskow P, Harvey K, Stamets P, Santos-Brault E, Kuypers KPC, Walsh Z (2022). Published in: Reputable peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-14512-3. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Cohort study. Funding: Mixed public and industry funding. Independence from the proponent is not recorded. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.